In some countries, owning a home rather than renting one is very important for people. Why is this the case? Do you think this is a positive or negative situation?
Sample Response
People in some countries now consider owning a home to be more important than renting one. This essay will discuss the underlying reasons for this preference and elaborate on why it is a negative development.
There are two main reasons for people’s preference for home ownership. First, for some people, owning a house or an apartment means that they do not have to waste time on accommodation hunting when a rental contract expires. Therefore, they can just focus on their career goals or other important things, such as marriage. Second, nowadays many people buy a home with a mortgage, and so they know the exact amount of money they owe and also the regular amount they have to pay. This allows people to make a clear long-term financial plan for the future. However, this is not the case when they rent a home because they are subject to changes in the rental price made by landlords.
The trend that many people value home ownership over rented accommodation is negative due to the following reasons. Most houses or apartments have low liquidity, which means they cannot be easily exchanged for cash. As a result, people who are still redeeming their mortgages may not be able to spend money on other big investments.
In addition, while a tenant can easily terminate a rental contract and find a new place if they are not satisfied with their current accommodation, it is very difficult for home owners to do the same. In other words, once a person makes an unwise decision and buys a home that they later regret, they are usually left with only two options: either make the home available for rent or accept living in a place they are not happy with.
In conclusion, people in some countries now prefer to buy their homes because they value stability that owning a home provides and want to have clear future plans. However, unless thorough considerations are made, home owners may have to face undesirable outcomes from such a decision.
TR: 7.0 CC: 8.0 LR: 8.0 GRA: 9.0 Overall: 8.0
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural collocation Original: accommodation hunting Suggested revision: searching for accommodation Why it matters: This phrase is a more natural way to describe looking for a place to live.
- 2. Sharpen vague wording Original: focus on their career goals or other important things Suggested revision: focus on advancing their careers or other priorities Why it matters: This wording expresses the same idea more precisely and formally.
- 3. Use parallel activity Original: such as marriage Suggested revision: such as getting married Why it matters: The gerund phrase fits the surrounding reference to things people can focus on doing.
- 4. Name the payment precisely Original: the regular amount they have to pay Suggested revision: the regular repayment amount Why it matters: This concise phrase identifies the recurring mortgage payment more precisely.
- 5. Remove redundant wording Original: make a clear long-term financial plan for the future Suggested revision: make a clear long-term financial plan Why it matters: A long-term plan already refers to the future, so the final phrase is redundant.
- 6. Use concise phrasing Original: changes in the rental price made by landlords Suggested revision: changes to the rent imposed by landlords Why it matters: This replacement conveys the same relationship in more natural language.
- 7. Correct mortgage collocation Original: redeeming Suggested revision: repaying Why it matters: Mortgages are repaid rather than redeemed in this context.
- 8. Use formal adjective Original: big Suggested revision: major Why it matters: Major is a more precise formal collocation with investments.
- 9. Use natural preposition Original: negative due to the following reasons Suggested revision: negative for the following reasons Why it matters: For is the natural preposition when introducing a list of reasons.
- 10. Use concise verb phrase Original: make the home available for rent Suggested revision: rent out the home Why it matters: The phrasal verb states the same action more directly.
- 11. Add definite article Original: value stability that owning a home provides Suggested revision: value the stability that owning a home provides Why it matters: The specific stability defined by the following clause requires the definite article.
- 12. Use natural passive form Original: unless thorough considerations are made Suggested revision: unless the decision is considered thoroughly Why it matters: The replacement keeps the intended caution while using a natural grammatical construction.
Suggested Rewrites
- accommodation hunting searching for accommodation
- focus on their career goals or other important things focus on advancing their careers or other priorities
- such as marriage such as getting married
- the regular amount they have to pay the regular repayment amount
- make a clear long-term financial plan for the future make a clear long-term financial plan
- changes in the rental price made by landlords changes to the rent imposed by landlords
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response is strongest in its clear position, controlled progression, and precise explanation of how ownership can offer stability while creating financial and practical constraints. Its main limitation is that the negative case is somewhat less fully developed than the reasons for ownership, particularly the liquidity point, which remains fairly general. The highest-priority improvement is to extend each drawback with a concrete consequence or example and make the conclusion state the negative judgement more decisively.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both questions are answered with a clear negative position and relevant reasons, although some drawbacks are not fully extended.
Develop the liquidity drawback with a specific real-world consequence and restate the negative evaluation unequivocally in the conclusion.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through well-focused paragraphs, and cohesive devices guide the reader without drawing undue attention.
Strengthen the link between the two drawback paragraphs so that they read as one cumulative case against prioritising ownership.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally precise, with effective financial and housing terms despite a few awkward collocations.
Replace less natural combinations such as redeeming mortgages with idiomatic alternatives such as repaying mortgages.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately, with only occasional minor awkwardness that does not impede meaning.
Refine article use and compressed passive phrasing, especially in expressions such as unless thorough consideration is given.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
In some countries, owning a home rather than renting one is very important for people. Why is this the case? Do you think this is a positive or negative situation?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.